Letters

True Heroism

Dear Alibi,

[Re: Opinion, “Same Same, But Different,” April 5-11] First, I want to thank Alex Limkin for his wry and intelligent article about the film that Deryle Perryman and I are working on, Same Same But Different. We did receive a message from a woman who offered that "I was planting onions in my underwear ..." could be misunderstood!

Second, by the time this letter is printed, the kickstarter.com campaign to make the film will be well in to its last week. So I am asking that everyone please go to the website, check out the project, and give what they can: kck.st/samepeace. This excerpt from an early project update gives an idea of what the project is about:

"We find ourselves today embroiled in a constant state of war. The way we got here has a great deal to do with the historical turning point that took place in Vietnam. It's easy to talk about these matters in academic terms, to spout opinions, make political points, but the reality is manifested in young men (and now young women) who carry the war with them for the rest of their lives.”

Deryle, and these other men, are struggling with what they did on orders from our government more than forty years ago! And yet we continue. Same Same But Different seeks to impress upon the viewer how heavy that weight is and what true heroism these men display by returning to Vietnam armed with plowshares instead of guns."

Thank you Alibi, and thank you Albuquerque, for making this film a reality.

Moisés GonzálezMarAb Productions

A Means to Progress

Dear Alibi,

[Re: Letters, “A Ton of Lies,” April 5-11] Bruce Moffitt attacks me and my organization as being “supported by oil, coal and chemical companies” that put out “misleading propaganda and outright lies.” I take exception to those comments.

For starters, the bet I cited between Simon and Ehrlich did indeed happen. That is a fact. Yes, a variety of commodities have increased in price in more recent years. That may be inconvenient for Americans, but it is largely a result of the rise of billions of Chinese and Indians (and some other populations in impoverished nations) that have risen from abject poverty to improved, more resource-intense lifestyles.

Mr. Moffitt may call this trend “massive human overpopulation” and can accuse me of carrying water for big corporations, but the reality is that, if given the freedom to choose, nearly all of the billions of inhabitants of this planet will choose to live like we do.

Unlike Mr. Moffitt, I believe that this is not only possible, but good and achievable if we free people from the shackles of unnecessary government regulations. Commodity prices will vary, but if freed, the human mind will allocate those resources efficiently and improve the environment at the same time. Corporations may contribute to this, but they are simply a means to human progress, not an end.

Paul J. GessingPresident, Rio Grande Foundation

Bullying and APS

Dear Alibi,

One minute is not enough time to a mother that spent hours in the hospital.

At what point do the APS school board and districts across the State of New Mexico take responsibility for bullying in our public school system? Certainly APS failed to listen to parents, community, and most importantly the children that are victims of bullying at Wednesday night’s APS school board meeting.

Parents, students, and community members went prepared to use the two minute per person time allotted by the APS school board (via the website and sign in sheet) to address the board during public comments. Those going before the board had prepared a two minute statement. When the APS school board decided seconds before the meeting to allow one minute rather then two, well, they sent a clear message: WE DON’T CARE!

One minute for a parent that spent hours in the hospital with her son? One minute for a parent that has spent days living in fear of what may happen to his or her child? One minute for a parent that lost a son or daughter to suicide or murder? One minute was all they could give to these concerned parents? One minute to a child that is a victim of bullying? One minute to a child that took the courage to stand and be heard, be the voice for so many that are silenced? How can we move forward when dealing with issues of bullying when the APS school board will not even listen for two minutes?

The kids there that night wanted to be heard. After all, they were the victims. Those present had been stabbed, burned, publicly humiliated, horrifically beat up and the list goes on. What lesson was the school board teaching our kids by cutting their time to a lousy one minute? They had already been denied the right to be heard by their principals, and now the school board does it. It’s no shock we have an unconcerned APS staff—look at their example.

The major issue at hand is not the two or one minutes, it is bullying! However, how can we move forward—work together to fix the problem—when we have a complacent board, unwilling to listen? I realize now why we have a major problem in our public schools: All fingers point towards the APS school board, APS Superintendent Mr. Winston Brooks and Assistant Superintendent Mr. Eddie Soto.

As someone that was bullied at Rio Grande High School, under the then-principal Eddie Soto, I know we have a real problem—a problem that has not improved since I walked the halls of APS. Bullying is on the rise, teen suicide is on the rise, and school violence is on the rise. It is time that students, parents and the community have a voice. It is time that we hold our school board accountable. It is time to hold those in APS that take home $80,000 and more a year accountable.

Best Karaoke

KAOS Corrected

Dear Alibi,

On your web page mentioning the Best Local Radio Station, you have KUNM listed as 89.1. This is incorrect, as KUNM can be found at 89.9 on the FM dial. Perhaps you got confused by our second public radio station, KBAC, which does sit at 89.1?

Anyway, I'm sure readers can figure it out. Thanks for all the great publications!

Dave T.

Letters should be sent with the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number via email to letters@alibi.com. They can also be faxed to (505) 256-9651. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium; we regret that owing to the volume of correspondence we cannot reply to every letter. Word count limit for letters is 300 words.